Doctor, Olympian, principal among 29 arrested in major marijuana bust

Olympic paddler Mihai Apostol, shown in this file picture from 2000, is among the 29 arrested in a massive marijuana-trafficking case. (STAFF / File)

UPDATED 7:15 p.m. Friday

A Nova Scotia doctor who police say has been selling prescriptions for medical marijuana, an Olympic paddler and an elementary school principal were involved in a large-scale marijuana bust Thursday in the Halifax area.

Friday morning, officers unveiled about 21 kilograms of dried and bagged weed, stacks of cash totalling over $100,000, four long guns and five nondescript vehicles that were part of the raids.

They also named 28 of the 29 people arrested, who they say were involved in a drug ring. Those men and women, who range in age from 23 to 67, face a total of 97 charges with more expected.

The 41-year-old defected to Canada from Romania when he was 18, during the 1989 world junior paddling championships in Dartmouth. He paddled at the Banook Canoe Club in Dartmouth and competed for Canada at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

Also charged is Tyler Gregory Rutledge, principal of St. Stephen’s Elementary School in north-end Halifax.

Rutledge “is not in school today and has been placed on administrative leave while the matter is being investigated,” Halifax regional school board spokeswoman Kelly Connors said Friday.

“This is a personnel issue that (human resources) is dealing with. We do not have any indication that the matter is associated with the school or that any illegal activity was happening on school property.”

The doctor has not been named and, so far, faces no charges.

However, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia announced Friday that it had suspended the licence of Dr. Dinesh Sinha of Halifax.

“Dr. Sinha came to the attention of the college as a result of work done by the RCMP,” college CEO and registrar Dr. Gus Grant said Friday.

Officers contacted the college Thursday. Early Friday morning, a college committee held an emergency meeting and pulled Sinha’s licence.

Grant said the college can act quickly in cases where they believe it is in the interest of public safety.

Sinha answered the telephone in his Tower Road office Friday afternoon. He referred media inquiries to his lawyer, although he said he could not say who will be representing him.

The seizures and arrests involved RCMP officers, Halifax Regional Police and officers from the Truro Police Service brought in for extra manpower. Police said the sweep was the result of an 11-month investigation, which also netted 2,207 marijuana plants and about $250,000 worth of marijuana production equipment.

“This operation focused on a group of criminals operating together in an organized manner, who engaged in cultivating and trafficking marijuana within the Halifax Regional Municipality,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Roddie Macdonald.

At some of the homes that were searched, “residents did have a licence to raise medical marijuana,” he said. “However, the individuals arrested were accused of illegally selling that marijuana.”

Police allege a Nova Scotia doctor had been selling prescriptions for a “substantial” amount of money, Macdonald said. However, the investigation of the doctor is likely to take a couple more months and involves Health Canada.

This isn’t the first time Sinha’s name has been in the news. In 2007, his office in Sheet Harbour was destroyed in what RCMP said was a suspicious fire.

Police had been called to 22528 Main St. in Sheet Harbour in the early morning to investigate a possible break-in. They found a broken window but no one inside, police said at the time.

Two hours later, the building was engulfed by fire. Sinha, who was 63 at the time, was interviewed by The Chronicle Herald a day after the fire. At the time, Sinha was distraught over the loss of medical records, drugs, medical equipment and personal belongings. He said he had been set up in that building for 40 years.

RCMP will be trying to seize a number of properties, vehicles and cash permanently, alleging they are the proceeds of crime.

Everyone charged in the case is scheduled to appear March 13 in provincial court in Dartmouth and Halifax.